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490 responses to ‘Pennsylvania’

10/3/2012 30 ORDER THAT ALL OF THE MOTIONS HEREIN, FILED BY THE JOHN DOE DEFENDANTS ARE GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. THIS CASE WILL PROCEED AGAINST DEFENDANT JOHN DOES #1, #13, AND #14, ONLY. THESE JOHN DOE DEFENDANTS WILL BE REFERRED TO COLLECTIVELY AS “DEFENDANTS” IN THIS AND ALL FUTURE ORDERS. WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS PLAINTIFF SHALL EFFECTUATE SERVICE OF THE COMPLAINT ON THE DEFENDANTS AND FILE AN AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MEMORANDUM ADVISING THE COURT AS TO WHY SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN MADE ON ANY DEFENDANT, ETC. DEFENDANTS SHALL ANSWER, PLEAD, OR OTHERWISE MOVE IN RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS OF SERVICE. DISCOVERY IS DUE WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS OF SERVICE OF THE COMPLAINT. A RULE 16 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD ON 11/30/2012, AT 10:00AM, IN COURTROOM 3A. THE COURT SETS 4/2/2013 AS THE DATE FOR A BELLWETHER TRIAL. ALL OTHER PROCEEDINGS IN THE CAPTIONED CASES ARE STAYED PENDING FURTHER ORDER OF THIS COURT. FURTHER INFORMATION AND DIRECTION IS AS OUTLINED HEREIN. SIGNED BY HONORABLE MICHAEL M. BAYLSON ON 10/3/2012. 10/4/2012 ENTERED AND COPIES MAILED TO PRO SE AND E-MAILED.(amas) (Entered: 10/04/2012)

The judge has made a partial granted and denied ruling? Is this a good or bad thing for those still in the case?

What I heard from a lawyer who has knowledge of this case, defendants shouldn’t freak out: judge is clearly anti-troll and this trial is meant for the trolls to prove their allegations. he does not like uncertainty and approached trolls “put up or shut up”: either present your evidence or get the hell out of PA courts. Defendant’s don’t have to prove anything: if they file an affidavit that they did not do it, judge will most likely let them go.

burnthetrolls: according to the order, effectively the other cases are put in limbo until this bellwether trial is held:

“However, as discussed more fully below, the Court will order that the proceedings be stayed until further order of the Court against all John Doe defendants except those five John Does who have filed the pending motions before the Court. Depending on the results of the anticipated proceedings outlined below, the Court will consider whether the other John Does should be severed at some future time, either upon a motion or sua sponte.”

Fiore will likely be putting all of his effort in this, since it’s make or break for him, so I think all the other Does in other cases will be able to breathe for a while. If things go bad for Fiore in the Bellwether trial, then it means his cases have no merits, and Judge Baylson will likely sever all does at that point.

Basically a Bellwether trial is sort of a test trial that is performed when there are many identical trials in the docket to get a sense of how future trials will commence. Judge Baylson sees that there are hundreds of identical copyright cases on his court’s docket right now, so he’s essentially saying “Look, we’re going to put the breaks on and get focus on these 5 people. We’ll put these 5 cases on the fast track, and see how they go, and they are going to instruct how we proceed in the future.” In the memorandum, Baylson explains in a footnote that the name Bellwether comes from hanging a bell on the male sheep who will lead the flock.

So, if the merits of Firoe’s cases falls flat in these 5 trials, we can be pretty sure he’s going to fall flat for the remainder suits and Baylson will basically say “GTFO of PA”

Now, what does this mean for you? Well, not to put the pressure on, but the fate of copyright trolling in PA and probably the rest of the country has now fallen on yours and four other shoulders. Yikes. So you can see where getting a lawyer is now extremely important because Fiore is going to be focusing all his efforts on you. It probably won’t just be Fiore either, since this is so important other top trolls like Lipscomb will be involved as well.

So what’s the bright side? Well this for starters:

“In the event Plaintiff’s allegations cannot be sustained, the five John Does will have adequate remedies to recover most, if not all, of these litigation expenses and/or damages from Plaintiff, such as a Rule 54 motion for costs, a lawsuit for abuse of civil process, a Rule 11 motion for sanctions, and a motion to recover excessive costs under 28 USC § 1927. More fundamentally, as mentioned above, because this is a copyright case, a successful defense will likely result in an award of attorney’s fees to any John Doe who prevails under 17 U.S.C. § 505.”

Inevitably when the merits of Fiore’s case fall, you get your attorney’s fees, and the opportunity to kick the trolls when they’re down with motions for sanctions and to recover additional costs. They’re going to be hurting bad when you’re done with them. But further, there’s this:

“The Court will also fully consider, at the appropriate time, allocating the cost of discovery in a fair manner so that there is no undue burden on the five John Does, if the facts so warrant. The Court assumes the defendants and their counsel will enter into a joint defense agreement to share work and expenses, and perhaps, if necessary, solicit others with interest in the outcome of these cases, for financial support.”

This is why you need to get an attorney, who will know the other attorneys, and who will coordinate a defense with you and with the four other does.

Yes, unfortunately you’re in this for the long haul. What this means for you is taking the case through discovery through trial in front of a jury. If you want to avoid all this, you probably still have the option of settling (and I bet Fiore would be more than willing to, because taking this through to trial is beyond what he ever wanted. You could probably negotiate a good lowered settlement amount knowing this).

However, keep in mind if you did not commit the acts they’re accusing you of, this should be a very easy case for you to win, especially if you can offer any exculpatory evidence. This translates to low over-all litigation fees, which you get back in the end.

I don’t know exactly what your financial situation is, and affording a lawyer can be tough, but start calling around to some of the lawyers who are already involved in this situation and see what kind of defense they are offering. The judge is assuming there will be defense sharing and he said the court might be compensating discovery so as to unburden the defendants. Just call around and see what is out there, but yeah, the bottom line is you need to defend yourself at this point and it’s probably not a good idea to proceed pro se.

Just when I was getting bored reading through all these motions and orders due to their similarity, Baylson does not disappoint:

“In Verdi’s opera, A Masked Ball, the King is told that conspirators intend to kill him. Not knowing their names, the King consults the gypsy fortune teller, Ulrica, who gives him a clue as to the identity of one of the conspirators. In these cases, similar to many cases throughout the United States, Plaintiff Malibu Media, Inc. alleges that it owns copyrights in certain motion pictures and that unknown defendants have infringed those copyrights by using a peer-to-peer client sharing program, known as BitTorrent, to download the motion pictures without paying royalties to Plaintiff.”

PA might be the theater where trolling dies for good, ones this Bellwether trials is seen through on the merits once and for all.

“Although the Court cannot prevent the parties from settling these claims, the Court assumes that Plaintiff will welcome this opportunity to prove its claims promptly pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the copyright laws, which may, if Plaintiff is successful, lead to an injunction enjoining the practices about which Plaintiff complains. If Plaintiff decides instead to continue to “pick off” individual John Does, for confidential settlements, the Court may draw an inference that Plaintiff is not serious about proving its claims, or is unable to do so.”

Baylson really seems like he’s trying to be as even handed as possible in this matter, and is really casting the Troll’s intentions in the best light possible. So here, he’s basically saying put up or shut up. If Trolls really have nothing to hide, and they’re doing everything on the up and up, then they should be fine with all of this. But we all know better, so the above excerpt should scare the hell out of them, as Baylson calls their bluff.

“In the event Plaintiff’s allegations cannot be sustained, the five John Does will have adequate remedies to recover most, if not all, of these litigation expenses and/or damages from Plaintiff, such as a Rule 54 motion for costs, a lawsuit for abuse of civil process, a Rule 11 motion for sanctions, and a motion to recover excessive costs under 28 USC § 1927. More fundamentally, as mentioned above, because this is a copyright case, a successful defense will likely result in an award of attorney’s fees to any John Doe who prevails under 17 U.S.C. § 505.”

Very big stakes here for Fiore, Malibu Media, and all trolls in general. In 6 months, not only can they potentially owe hundreds of thousands to these 5 individuals, PA will be lost, they will face sanctions and counter suits in PA, and every future defendant and judge will be able to point to PA and say “See, there’s nothing behind the curtain”

Best part is, the 5 defendants in this case have self selected. The ones who really are guilty either payed and settled or didn’t do anything. These 5 individuals who remain said “Wait, this is unjust. I’m not guilty and I’m not going to be pushed around” So it’s very likely they’ll have good defenses against he Trolls. Between PA and Fantalis in CO, we’ll get these Trolls to face the light of discovery and reveal the truth of their operations soon enough.

Oh ho ho! A trial at a time and place that is not of the Trolls’ choosing.

Too good! It will surely be fun to see how Fiore and Malibu try to weasel out of this one.

Between this and Fantalis v. Kotzer it looks like Brigham Field may be the best thing to happen to Does since Brett Langdon Gibbs.

For the Doe here, to be completely pragmatic, in addition to having the opportunity to deal a decisive blow to copyright trolling nationwide, there may be a lot of money to be awarded to you in the event that the Trolls’ claims are as vaporous as they appear.

SJD, someone mentioned (maybe jokingly) about setting up a legal defense fund. I’m not sure if anyone else agrees, but is there any way this can be done? A lot of us have a vested interest in seeing this trial crash and burn for the troll. However, at least one (burnthetrolls) said he doesn’t have the money for a lawyer.

I’m afraid that this trial will go nowhere because the Does don’t have the resources to fight it properly. I know SJD, Raul, and DTD do a tremendous amount with these sites and educating the Does. I certainly don’t want to imply these sites, posts, and advice make little difference; they do – A LOT. However, with recent events like this trial, the Guava persecution against Erin’s clients, etc. I see this as causing re-enforcement that Does should do nothing hoping it will go away. If every person that comes to this site pitched in $1, $5, or $10 how much could that be? The hacker that Sony went after raised over $10K IIRC.

I’m just thinking out loud as the logistics would be a nightmare. How to ensure the $$ gets to where it is supposed to and not used for settlements is the big one that comes to mind. However, everyone is telling these people to get lawyers. It’s sound advice, but would (or could) any of us do the same if we were in their positions? I know I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk emptying my 401K, savings, etc. on a hopeful payday a long way into the future. We’re telling trolls to put up or shut up. Maybe we should do the same to ensure Does have a fighting chance.

Just thinking out loud as I really feel for some of these people targeted over the last 24 hours.

It’s a great idea in theory, but dealing with finances requires 1) time 2) experience 3) responsibility. This activity is not my main thing in life: I have a full-time job that I like, family and friends. I try to stay on top of the events and situations, yet if I disappear for a week or have no time to reply to all emails, it’s not a big deal. When dealing with finances, this approach is not acceptable. And I absolutely have no experience and knowledge how to do it and stay withing the law.

But of course I will give my 100% support to anyone who takes over such initiative.

SJD, I didn’t mean to imply that I think it should be you (or Raul, or DTD for that matter). I see from my post it kind of looked like I was asking you to try and set something up based on the wording; that wasn’t my intent.

You and the others seems so knowledgeable (I think TAC has financial experience from his posts?) that I thought maybe someone would have info on how to do this and point someone in the right direction if they wanted to take the initiative. I certainly have no clue but I’d certainly be willing to donate (whether it be time or resources) if a movement got off the ground somehow.

It’s just disheartening to see trolls with the resources to try and beat Does into submission. This week has seen a lot of things go right for the Does but a couple of things have gone against the Does and when something goes wrong, it really seems to go wrong.

And I’m absolutely agree that it would be terrific if our fight would be supported by funds.

I have an idea of creating a “Chores” page, where I or anyone else will list ideas what each of us can do to accelerate the healing of this trolling plague, so those ideas wouldn’t be lost in comments and become more visible. I have a couple of ideas: fund managing is big one, but there are smaller too. For example, Wikipedia page “Copyright Trolls” is far from being adequate, etc.

If you want to settle, the judge can’t prevent it. You might contact Arron D Hall in Minnesota. He should be able to negotiate lower amount that more than makes up for his fees. Ethan O’Shea is an excellent attorney out of Lansdale already representing a client in one of the cases. He might offer lower fees if he has multiple defendants instead of just one and it might give him much better settlement leverage.

The plaintiff is the one who will have to expend thousands of dollars in discovery and likely do forensic of hard drive(s). I suspect that to prove their case, they need defendant to either admit they did the pirating or find traces of the file(s) on hard drive(s).

Another lawyer that you might try to get in touch is Damien Brewster. I believe Raul mentioned about him before. I would think many lawyers might be interested in case like this where there is potential to be awarded a big judgement and positive publicity, in exchange for lower fee or work on a contingency manner.

I am one of the five Does and I do have a lawyer. He is very expensive; I didn’t know until I was surprised to see the bill for filling the motion to quash. I am glad that we five fighters have brought the trolls to this stage, but I am afraid I may not afford too much more for the legal fees.

One of us does not have a lawyer, just wonder how many do.

Our lawyers should be reading this blog, I think. Probably other lawyers of the copyright cases too.

PLEASE, our attorneys and others including the Electronic Frontier Foundation: could you please work together to help us to win this trial?

To win this trial, which may become the decisive turning point for the anti-troll legal fight in the whole country. They are abusing the American federal judicial system, and it’s time to stop them.

Judge Baylson in his order clearly suggested that the defendants and their counsel may enter into a joint defense agreement, and solicit others with same anti-troll interest. And he clearly suggested that a successful defense will likely result in an award of attorney’s fees to any John Does, to recover litigation expenses and/or damages from Plaintiff, and a lawsuit for abuse of civil process…

Can someone please post information about this case to other anti-troll web pages? I think it should get nationwide attention, to get other Does and attorneys to help!

“Let’s demote copyright troll species’ status first to endangered, then to extinct!”

I’m writing a post about this case and I hope it will draw some attention of popular publications: at least I will notify TorrentFreak, TechDirt and Arstechnica: they covered less important events, so I expect it will be in the news.

I am so sorry you have to shoulder this financial burden for the greater good but the likelihood of success is definitely in your favor and the prevailing party gets attorneys fees. Trolls are terrified of this rule and it is the reason Fiore is going to desperately seek an exit, just watch.

I wanted to reach out to you. I was a Doe in another case in the EDPA before Judge Mary A. McLaughlin – Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-07248-MAM. I fought Fiore and he never did obtain my information. I have some interesting exhibits that may be helpful — for instance I created a chart with all the cases Fiore had filed and the disposition of each one. In addition to the Motion to Quash I filed a motion for reconsideration and an interlocutory appeal to the Third Circuit. At the end FIORE lied and dismissed the case against me without prejudice saying he had received my information. He never did get my information so I filed a letter with the court about his lie and tactics asking for a dismissal with prejudice and sanctions. The Judge McLaughlin posted the letter on the docket, but said since Raw Films could dismiss the case there was nothing she could do. I think the Judge got it wrong at first but by the time she started to get an idea about his tactics Fiore had dismissed all the Raw Films cases — after getting money out of too many people.

I was innocent as well and had never downloaded a porn movie or any movie. So I was determined not to pay a cent to anyone. I had contacted the EFF (in San Fran) and they were willing to file an Amicus Brief if I could get it to the Third CIrcuit (an amicus brief is a friend of the court brief). When I discussed the case with them they said they were looking for an oppotunity to have a case heard on the merits. With that said I would urge you to have your attorney contact the EFF and see if they can assist with this matter. When I was facing the Third Circuit I had reached out to some lawyers who were willing to help me out pro-bono and I don’t want to step on your attorney’s feet. If they have fought this far I think it would be worth discussing options, contingency and to to see if you can get the other Does to coorperate and maybe even some type of fundraising. I I would be willing to assist in any way I can because I do find this litigation to be horrible. I tried to make a complaint to the PA Bar against Fiore but was told I would have to indentify myself and since I had successfully protected my indentity I didn’t want to expose myself.

Unfortunately, if everyone goes away this will just continue and I understand it is difficult — but perhaps there may be a way to get some assistance and “pro-bono” representation. Please have your attorney contact me at my email if he would like an affidavit or other information.

In a few of these cases (Nucorp) the plaintiff is from an international company based out of Dominica. If you do win the case and are awarded attorney fees… is there any way to actually recover the fee’s from the offending party, as they were created almost specifically for this purpose and may be outside of the reach of counter-litigation?

I think you have been put in a great position by the Judge with the Bellweather case. Fiore on his own will never litigate a case on the merits as evidenced by the fact that he dismissed the case against me when it looked like I might actually be able to take this issue to the Third Circuit. I don’t think there is a basis for a motion for reconsideration (and generally these don’t go very far) since the Judge has issued the order for the trial. The basis for my appeal was because of the inconsistent rulings coming out of the EDPA and the fact that depending on the Judge you were in front of you would get different rulings. By saying that not only are they going to look at the law, but the substance and merits of the allegations and if they can sustain the case in discovery and trial (highly unlikely) then a motion for reconsideration and an appeal would probably be denied at this juncture of the litigation. But the issues I raised in the reply to Fiore’s objection to my motion for reconsideration contain some interesting issues that you may want to discuss with your attorney and also include in your discovery requests.

johndoexx: Thank you very much for all of the information and suggestions, and the offer to share some interesting exhibits for the case. I’ll discuss with my attorney and contact you when the time is right. It is amazing that you fought Troll Fiore yourself and you won; great story!

burnthetrolls: Looks like we are in the same boat; well probably sailing to victory with the help of other Does and friends including good attorneys. I’ll discuss it with my attorney if he wants to give out his name and get back to you later.

SJD wrote a great post and there are already many excellent comments from the anti-troll community. I definitely feel better now with the supportive messages from so many people. I feel it would become a trail against the trolls. One thing I would like to find out is: how much dirty money the trolls got from the extortion. I wish the court will order the disclosure of their financial status, and eventually order them to return the money to the victims.

Thank you 🙂 So far everything goes according to the plan: TorrentFreak picked up the story. And according to Ernesto, he has contacted EFF. In the article, he also suggests that

Considering what’s at stake, it would be no surprise if parties such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are willing to join in. They are known to get involved in crucial copyright troll cases, siding with the defendants. We asked the group for a comment, but have yet to receive a response.

In terms of traffic/visibility Ars/Wired is greater of the ones that, as I hope, are likely to spread this story. We’ll see.

We need to get this in newspapers to ISP customers can see it and start asking questions. Like might I become a victim by simply being a subscriber? Why doesn’t Comcast or Verizon protect it’s subscribers?

The Doe’s lawyers should ask for absolutely everything. Notice that the judge specifically mentions that Does may end up finding cause for a countersuit for abuse of civil process. He is determined to call the Trolls out, so if I were a Doe’s attorney I would expect the judge to be willing to make the Troll give me everything. Everything.

Baylson appears to understand that the Trolls have nothing and has opened the door for a determined Doe and their lawyer to unravel the entire scam and take the Trolls to the cleaners. The arragements with the German IP harvesters in particular should be a revelation. Remember the Trolls started this, so if they get railroaded through to trail, why should this already-skeptical judge be willing to accept ANY excuses from Trolls as to why they can’t produce evidence, explain their operation, etc?

If this does indeed go through to trial expect to see Lipscomb and Fiore’s feet held to the fire until they squeal and squeal, no mercy from Baylson, and eventually enough dirty laundry aired to ensure massive civil countersuits and if we’re lucky criminal charges provoked by the massive conspiracy to commit fraud against the government and Does that will be revealed.

Even better, since this is the same Trolling conspiracy that Fantalis is fighting, any discovery that reveals the true depths of their scam will be additional ammo for use in his case!

This is going to be AWESOME!!! I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall at Troll HQ listening to the discussions of how they are going to weasel out of this (probably involves big settlement offers, and I mean like 5-figure payment offers to the 5 Does to make this go away). Probably a lot of document shredding, burning and hard-drive wiping too. PA Does should be prepared to make Spoliation clams as well, don’t think the Trolls aren’t already trying to cover their tracks!

Seriously, it takes a great deal of money to gain anything in these cases. Discovery is expensive and one needs to be specific in requesting documents and facts. One doesn’t get to sift thru everything. The defendants are not DAs or publicly funded prosecutors. Expert witness(es) costs a great deal of money. Their investigator is based n Germany for a reason. To be impossible to examine and immune to US courts jurisdiction.

I am not an attorney but my guess is that a well fought battle would cost over a hundred thousand dollars and perhaps many times this. I would think the trolls will offer a very low settlement deal… such as please promise to delete file(s) and thank you very much.

I am an innocent doe in one of the related Fiore cases. If there is a fund set up for assistance for legal costs, let me know – I will contribute. I also have friends in high places in the largest legal firm in Philadelphia. I’ll help in any way possible.

With regard to the bell weather cases and paying for legal council, where are ISPs and wireless router manufactures like Cisco? Had I known I would become a target of pornographers, threatening my families financial future, I would never have connected to the internet. It definitely isn’t worth it and I could easily have stayed with a dial-up modem for my email and news browsing needs. I never needed corporations blasting me with their advertisements, tracking me,etc. Probably 99% of my usage are corporations trying to sell me junk I don’t want and spy on me. In many ways, the internet has become worse than TV due to brain dead commercialization.

If Comcast, Verizon, and other ISPs customers knew of this nightmare, would many remain customers? I know that, I will be switching to a very low bandwidth service and will never again use a wireless device. Cisco and other wireless router mfg(s) sure claimed their technology and products as being secure as Fort Knox, but their products are flawed, so why isn’t there a class action lawsuit over these failures?

Why isn’t the main stream media reporting on these lawsuits? Most people have no idea this is going on and that they could become victims. I occasionally read about piracy and always thought because this is rare, the person must be guilty. I had no idea innocent people were getting caught up in this. I am telling everyone I know about this but it falls on death ears. They like I had thought, believe this will never happen to innocent them.

When I received initial notice from ISP about the subpoena, I called them to discuss security of their router at a business. They swore up and down that given their default setting of wireless router, we were 100% secure. Truth is that they are lying and their high power lawyers have probably inserted small print to hold them harmless when you are harmed by their lies and faulty service.

We should try to get this reported on in local newspapers and TV. All Does should ask their ISPs to step up and defend these cases.

Cases filed in PA by Malibu Media and Patrick Collins have slowed to a crawl. In August, a combined total of 10 cases were filed totaling 187 does. In September, only 2 cases totaling 71 does. So far in October, no cases have been filed. This alone is a tremendous win for us, as it’s clear the pressure is being put on the Troll Fiore hard as he fights on other fronts. The more cases they file, the more settlements they get.

Sadly, since the October 3 Baylson order, I count 3 settlement dismissals. So it’s still important to get he word out that the trolls are on the run, as no one should be settling; until the outcome of the bellwether trial, does are in the best bargaining position ever. Perhaps we can find a way to get his in local Philly news?

It would be great to have another Fantalis, but that named defendant does not counterclaim. I recapped his motion. In two words, he alleges that “Malibu Media’s assertion that defendant “is the most likely infringer” is a guess; it is not supported by facts as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2).”

Just read through it. True, it doesn’t look like a Fantalis type retaliation, but at least this guy is fighting back. Every second Fiore spends on this case he is not spending on the Bellwether trial or suing new Does.

Way lower profitability even with all things being equal. Trolls exaggerate, but Steele claimed 500 individual suits so far in Prenda’s wave of individual suits (note MM is not using Prenda), assuming they actually end up paying the filing fees that is a $175K outlay for 1/5-1/3 of the Does they used to shake down for $350 in the good old days. And that’s just filing fees, even though trolling is their full-time job, that’s still far more time spent per defendant that would have gone towards other cases in the past.

The first handful of individual suits generated nasty counterclaims and it’s only going to get worse the more they sue. With the mass-Doe cases, even with valid counterclaims most Does wanted to be left alone and were content to let the trolls off easy as long as it didn’t escalate. There are way more informed attorneys these days and Doe-defense has turned into a business of its own. This is the real beginning of the end and many of us have been waiting eagerly for this. Even though it makes things a lot harder on some people this is an act of desperation on the trolls’ part and will only last so long. Other trolling operations of the past took baby-steps along this path and gave up. Prenda and Lipscomb appear more committed, but read the quality of their filings, the typos, leaving the wrong parties names and the wrong claims in copy-and-paste filings, etc, do you really think these guys are cut out to be the trailblazers that make it work?

Remember Righthaven was terrorizing the blogosphere until a few of their targets hired attorneys and their house of cards collapsed almost overnight.

I know everyone on this site is trying to be supportive, but IMO I would back off of all the talk about “going to the presses”. These Does have filed an MTQ for a reason, and would most likely not want the media watching so closely. Let’s not forget that this is a socially sensitive topic we’re talking about here, and it’s quite possible (unless I’m misunderstanding something to this point) that their names could be released and tied to these cases. As most of us on this site understand, it’s tough enough dealing with all of these legal issues. Our community here understands what’s going on, but if Does start to have reporters asking them questions around all of this alleged questionable material, who knows what controversy it may stir, and it will only make it tougher on the innocent. Just my $.02

I know most people want to fight, but in the interest of my family I’ve decided to settle with Malibu Media before my Comcast releases my information. One lawyer referred me to Steve O’Donnell (http://www.copyrightsettlementcounsel.com/) who says he will handle everything and all I have to do is send him the settlement and his fee. Even though everything has been official (he’s sent me an example of what the settlement agreement will be like) and I’ve googled his name and such, I’m a little hesitant to trust him just because the internet has made me a bitter man and sending someone I’ve never met a check for a large sum of money just innately seems like a bad idea.

One thing I would look for in the agreement is a clause to the effect of “this takes care of all known, unknown, and suspected claims from the plaintiff from the date of the signed agreement.” This protects you from the same plaintiff coming after you later saying you downloaded a different movie from Malibu Media. I would also make sure he doesn’t release your IP to the Plaintiff until he has confirmation of the settlement agreement (via email or something). Then MM can’t see your IP address, see you want to settle, and then up the settlement amount. I admit I settled in a copyright case (it wasn’t MM) and I sent the $$ directly to the Plaintiff (they still didn’t have my info except for IP).

Are you in the Bellwether Trial? If so I would strongly recommend not settling just yet. Troll Fiore is already beyond his 10 day window to effectuate service upon Doe’s, and they have filed a request for a time extension. This extension could very well be denied, and I assure you that the Trolls have been very sloppy with their procedures and it is going to come to light VERY soon. A motion to deny the extension has already been filed.

Yes, the entire reason they asked for a time extension is that they are not prepared or willing to take one of these cases to trial… Very foolish move IMO as this telegraphs their fear and their unpreparedness to the defendants and the rest of the public. Really goes to show just how full of crap they are if they have to execute these sad evasive maneuvers instead of trying to bluff and bully their way through.

Keep the pressure up and act like you are going to trial and they will be crapping their pants.

I have heard that MM, in some instances, will try to include other titles other than the one they are suing on to beef up the settlement. You may wish to rethink settling as things are not going well for the trolls in EDPA and are likely to get much worse.

I’m not going to recommend either way, but that is why if you do settle you don’t have the attorney give up the IP until he has a confirmed settlement agreement from the plaintiff’s attorney. That way they can’t backpeddle and say . . . ooops, that won’t fly based on all these other titles that IP downloaded. They could backpeddle I guess, but they really could get in trouble for that.

I settled with the help of an attorney. As he was negotiating the settlement, we had a motion to quash/sever pending but had not been ruled on at the time, PC,MM,KB whomever claimed that had another instance of infringement. My lawyer was able to obtain a settlement that covered 3 or 4 of the big companies and many of their works. My lawyer charged me 1K and the settlement was 2K for a total of 3. Also my lawyer had cases dismissed with prejudice, which was really the only thing change he had them make to the original agreement they proposed.

First, who was your attorney if you don’t mind me asking. Second, I sure hope there wasn’t a non-disclosure agreement in that settlement you violated by telling us the details. If so, then they can come after you. They don’t want people to know how much you settled for because people can use that as leverage to get lower settlements.

I certainly would not be settling in PA until the outcome of the bellwether. For all intents and purposes, Malibu Media seems done filing cases in EDPA for now; they haven’t filed a single case in October, and only one in September. Since July only 3 defendants have been named, and there has been zero movement on those cases. Your chances of getting named by them are at an all time low.

Lipscomb and Fiore will be focusing 100% of their attention on this Bellwether trial; if they lose this, they’re done in EDPA for sure and potentially the entire troll scheme will come crumbling down across the nation shortly after.

Hell, if you *really* want to settle now, you’re in the best bargaining position does have ever been in. I would lowball them with a $200 offer and say “With this Bellwether trial you’ll need all the money you can get.”

I am in need of some very serious help. I received a letter yesterday stating that an actual complaint was filed against me. I am on permanent disability, receiving $698/month SSI benefits, meaning there is literally no reality in which I could afford a lawyer. I would really like some advice on how to proceed, the sooner the better.

If your only source of income is disability, then you are likely ‘judgement-proof’. Even if they took the case to trial and won a judgment against you, it is unlikely they could ever collect any money. That said, if you have any property or other income, or acquire anything in the future, they could then attempt to collect on the judgement.

did you actually get served a complaint? usually simply getting a letter in the mail is not good enough. also SSI cannot from what i understand be garnished, so there is no way they could collect from you even if they won some sort of judgement. if you can do nothing else (i would still suggest you call around to lawyers maybe you can get one pro-bono) file an answer to the complaint and ask for a sumary judgement and/or a motion to dismiss based on a failure to state a claim. you can find alot of examples by looking at other cases on pacer and because you are broke and prose the judge may be lenient with you as far as court rules go. but i would still say contacting a lawyer to get a good initial view of your position is the best place to start. many have a free initial consult in which they will go over your options. but please no matter what atleast file a response that says “i am the defendant XXXX i am over 18 i live at XXXXXX and i did not do what they claim i did, i am on permanent dissability and my only income is through SSI benefits.” chances are that will be enough for the plaintiff to give up on moving your case forward.

i am not a lawyer and you should not rely on anything i say without actually consulting one.

You can certainly ask for summary judgement or MTD based on failure to state a claim, but do not count on being successful. A Complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim
unless it appears beyond a doubt that the Plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief. See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46 (1957) also Neitzke v. Williams, 109 S. Ct. 1827, 1832 (1989). Rule 12(b)(6) does not countenance dismissals based on a judge’s disbelief of a complaint’s factual allegations. In applying the
Conley standard, the Court will “accept the truth of the well-pleaded factual allegations of the Complaint.”

Although I very much agree that an IP Address does not represent a person, it’s unlikely you’ll convince the judge that plaintiff has no set of facts in support of his claim; an IP Address tied to a name is probably sufficient fact.

Has anyone been successful using this tactic to have a suit dismissed?

from what i have seen no case has gotten this far. they only just started naming people in the last 2 months, and even then have only actually served a small handful of those named. i am sure this will come up (pretty sure i saw it in a motion somewhere already, but don’t remember what case, might just be lightspeed’s cases rattling around in me ole noggin.) but am at work right now and unable to paroose the cases, i will when i get home if no one else posts b4 then. either way it has not been long enough for one to actually be ruled on yet.

Is New Sensations going after Pennsylvania now? Today I got a letter from my ISP, and it was not good. Seems I’m the victim of a copyright troll now… a dubious honor. I don’t remember what it said exactly, but it was more than likely a subpoena letter.
I am so scared and I don’t want this to happen to me so young (19). Shall I ignore the subsequent threats that may or may not come, or should I pay the settlement upfront? What if something does come to fruition?

Ira Siegel’s name is starting to pop up on various Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG) DMCA notices being emailed to ISPs. They tend to keep the settlement amounts low and hope people pay up via their Web site.

DTD, do the bigger ISPs forward on these to their customers even if they’re not part of a suit (i.e., Comcast, AT&T, etc. who has said they won’t give up subscriber info unless ordered by law)? I received a DMCA notice a few months back and I’m wondering if my ISP (one of the ones in the six strikes would send out one of these).

Most ISPs will forward these types of emails to the subscriber (http://dietrolldie.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/ceg_settlement_dmca_email.pdf). They will usually forward it to the default email address they set-up for the subscriber. Example: JohnDoe@comcast.net The ISP will not release your personal information unless ordered by the court. The Troll just hopes with these notices that you visit their Web site and decide to pay. Depending on the Plaintiff, they may decide to file a mass case to obtain the ISP subscriber information. Otherwise they will just move onto a new set of IP addresses to send the DMCA notices to.

The ISPs do this to abide by the DMCA and thus cannot be held liable for what their subscribers do. I don’t think this will change with the 6-Strike program.

Do you have any more info that isn’t too revealing to yourself? I don’t see anything in rfcexpress other than MA. If ISPs are sending out letters I would’ve figured it would be in rfcexpress by now. It takes a few days for the subpoena to be granted and then sent to the ISPs usually, doesn’t it?

That’s odd… I didn’t get a good look at the letter, I was too shocked. (severe anxiety problems suck). I have little knowledge of subpoenas and such. The title of the film was listed (blacked out), a listing of offending urls (trackers?) and I know the MAC address was at the end. I would be covered by the Eastern District court of Pennsylvania.

@bohemianwarrior – Hold on for a second. The name of the movie was redacted? Are you kidding me? So, basically, you can’t even find your case (unless they gave you a case number, which I ask you to NOT hand out in a public forum for your own sake). My ISP just sent me a copy of a subpoena with the case and case #, then a letter saying “you have 30 days to respond…motion to quash…yada yada.”

I’d be surprised if you didn’t receive a copy of the subpoena, but they aren’t necessarily bound to include one but I can’t see why they wouldn’t. They ARE bound by the Cable TV Privacy Act to notify you, though, and it sounds like they did a halfass job. You can’t possibly file any sort of motion if you don’t know the case number and you sure as hell can’t figure out what you even are alleged to have done if they redacted the title of the movie. I’d be on the phone with my ISP if I were you, then again, I’m an asshole 😛 Just PLEASE do not reveal details about your case, Eastern District of PA is enough. Not the plaintiff, not the plaintiff’s scumbag counsel, and DEFINITELY not the case and/or case number.

What to make of this? Case 5:12-cv-03642-LDD – NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by PATRICK COLLINS, INC. As To Plaintiff’s Notice of Voluntaryt Dismissal Without Prejudice of John Does 2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,16 and 17 Only(FIORE, CHRISTOPHER) (Entered: 10/30/2012)

It appears that they might be going against them individually instead of as a swarm:

10/30/2012 20 NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by PATRICK COLLINS, INC. As To Plaintiff’s Notice of Voluntaryt Dismissal Without Prejudice of John Does 2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,16 and 17 Only(FIORE, CHRISTOPHER) (Entered: 10/30/2012)

10/31/2012 21 ORDER THAT THE TIME IN WHICH PLAINTIFF MAY EFFECTUATE SERVICE OF A SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT UPON EACH DEFENDANT IS ENLARGED TO 11/16/2012, ETC. SIGNED BY HONORABLE LEGROME D. DAVIS ON 10/31/2012. 11/1/2012 ENTERED AND COPIES E-MAILED.(kk, ) (Entered: 11/01/2012)

And it appears they have until 11/16 to actually serve the does.

Again, I could be wrong and you’ll probably want to have someone else weigh in on it. I’m still new at all this.

There are other cases proceeding as if Bellwether case is meaningless. 2:12-cv-03147 is such a case where the judge denied all motions to server, quash, and released summons on 10/18.

We should be placing bets on whether the Bellwether ever makes it to trial. Plaintiff could easily offer a very low settlement figure and then what would become of those 4 defendents and all the other cases?

It seems a real Bellwether case would have been not to sever any defendants. Try all of them because most judges in the Eastern District Court think joiner is proper. The Bellwether should be one of the cases that has 22 or more defendants. Let’s see how everyone could handle that nightmare!

I have a question maybe someone on here could help me?
A friend of mine was involved in a mass bit torrent case as a multiple doe. The case was dismissed.
My friend still is harassed. After the initial case has been closed for almost a year. The accusing law firm Prenda .
OK my question my friend received a letter from Prenda a few weeks ago the
new extortion letter and the letter head is from Daniel Goldsmith Ruggiero.
In the letter it states:
Quote:
“You will receive no further warnings about the commencement of the suit.”
So can they file a suit and not notify my friend and try to get a default judgement?
Any advice on this would be a help.
Thank you.

They can file a suit, yes, but your friend must be served before Prenda/Ruggiero could seek a default judgment. I would recommend your friend seek legal advice from an attorney. There are time limits on responding to a lawsuit once served. If a defendant doesn’t respond, that’s when the opposing side can seek a default judgment.

My $.02: although an advice to hire a lawyer at any stage is a good advice, I yet to find an attorney who would say that you are good to go without representation 🙂

On a serious note, yes, without representation you are worse off, unless your wife’s name is Marianne :). Heed these advice, but always remember that you also have a brain that was created to do independent thinking, taking all the advice into consideration.

Some facts: “You will receive no further warnings about the commencement of the suit” is a hogwash: you will, and a lot. Ask TAD. There will be several deadlines and almost-services. Learn this and many other facts about Prenda and its tactics, be empowered by that information, think statistically, and make your own decision.

Another fact: Prenda is not expanding its operations: we will see the proof in coming months. And if the plaintiff is a certain offshore outfit, I would refrain from any action at least until next week.

It’s worth noting that Ruggiero hasn’t filed any new suits since Sept 26, 2012. But that doesn’t mean more couldn’t be filed at any time.

And while I’m always looking for new clients, it’s also helpful to talk to people who have received calls, letters, and suits regardless (or irregardless) of whether they hire me. It’s mutually beneficial to have a ‘free consultation’ with those who are concerned about a letter or call they just received; I can give them some advice on the status of these cases and, in turn, I can keep up with Plaintiffs’ behind-the-scenes tactics that aren’t usually on the record.

Thank you for everyone’s quick response I talked to my friend this morning and the comments are well received and put our minds at rest. My friend is a veteran who dose not have much money and his wife passed away to an illness last year. He is on antidepressants and receiving treatment for anxiety and a panic disorder for this harassment and the loss of his wife.When all this started last year we were worried that he might give up and commit suicide he really was at the end of his rope and Pretenda broke the camels back coupled with the loss of his wife.
I care for my friend a lot and I wish these layers could see first hand the pain suffering worry and torment that they put people threw they ruined my friends life and continue to do so
for something he did not do in the first place.
karma is a bitch.
My friend has the support of family friends and the church he now attends.
we put these scum trolls in the hands of god.
Like Jim Morrison once said get your kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames.
Thank you everyone.

These criminals and purveyors of obscene material are predators, very likely they would delight in seeing that they cause pain and suffering because that leads to people handing over their money to them.

Tell your friend to be strong, that is the only way to fight bullies. Your friend can easily win and not pay a cent. They have no proof.

Just notice a few more cases in PA ED by Fiore, dated 12/6/12 on rfcesxpress. Thought he is currently focusing on the bellwether trial and all the previous cases were consolidated under Judge Baylson? Find it very strange why he is filing all these new trials at this time.

Just be sure to not admit to anything yet…occasionally (rarely, but more common) Fiore dismisses these trials and then files named suits a few weeks/months later. Still pretty unlikely, but keep your guard up. It seems like most of these guys get their asses handed to them (epically too) as soon as the defendant gets an attorney… the only real success they have had is with default settlements.

When exactly is the Bellweather trial? My laptop was an old piece of junk 8 months ago when I received the notice for the case. Nothing has been done on my case number. I’ve since bought a new PC. Typically I would just toss the laptop at this point, but I am holding it because of this case. You would think things like this would make these cases seem like an obvious scam. There’s bound to be some people that have hardware go bad while these cases get drawn out forever. I would have rather had them just scan the thing 8 months ago, come up clean and move on with life.

I am one of the John does, and I believe I left my old phone No. to my ISP since I started to use another No. Later and I never inform ISP of the change. But today I got a call from the troll company to my new No!! How can they find my new No.? I am so surprised! Did they find it in some illegal ways? btw, my new No. is not even under my name!!!

As an artist and creator of images, copyright is vitally important, have to say I’m offended by this site. IF you use images etc. with out authorization, then you are stealing. Period. It is very simple, either use your own work or contact the owner of the work for proper licensing. It is not that hard. The problem is people want to use other peoples work for free … sorry doesn’t work that way!

Well, either you’re a really crappy artist who can’t get published or a really good one that can publish their own stuff. Because 9 times out of 10 the author of a work isn’t the one that usually benefits from a copyright, but the publisher.

Which is one of the things that SJD routinely points out on this site, at least regarding Prenda. I think, if I remember correctly, the company’s the lawyers represent usually only get about 10%

i think you meant to post on extortion letter info’s site. this site does not and has never supported stealing someone’s work for commercial use(to be fair neither does ELI they just focus on image trolls). seriously how can you be offended at the content on this site as an “artist”

This is funny. A little while ago I received a threatening multiple page …survey? It is asking about internet activity. I think it is funny they added on to the letter that if this survey is not returned within 10 days they will assume I am guilty and decide how to proceed from there. Not only that but they tacked on a bunch of other video titles I have never heard of and are not mentioned in my case ID at all.

Oh well, been saving all the letters and dozens of harassing voicemails if anything ever comes of it.

I got one, too. Apparently “exculpatory” is trollspeak for “give us open-ended answers to vague questions so we can nail your nads to the wall.” I gave them a written RPR but kept the “survey” for myself. I have a little Word file now with the questions and appropriate answers to the questions. If this ever makes it to a deposition, I intend to use those answers to the trolls’ questions so that the reporter in attendance will have my answers without the dubious benefit of the trolls’ translation, misinterpretation, and spin. I also noticed that the initial claims have jumped up a bit, from 11 to 15, in my case. They’ll be surprised when a scan of my system turns up nothing. (Except when the incriminating hash tag shows up, it will be the name of a .jpg of me giving them the finger…)

Yes, it’s an obvious phishing scheme. The questions on it are all set up so that however it is answered pretty much favors the trolls. I may do the same thing and just ask them to stop contacting me and say nothing else. Would require going out and buying a stamp. Maybe too much effort 😛

I would not furnish any info whatsoever to their attempted shakedown. They want info, make them spend a lot of time and money trying to get it. They will be shocked if ever they pursue it and find I was hospitalized and being operated on at the time they claim I was stealing Colette Pelissier’s & Brigham Feild’s obscene work.

Why isn’t anyone updating the Bellwether case? How can they have a trial in a little over a month? I don’t see anything on depositions, discovery, etc. It looks like Comcast filed a motion in the case. Whatever happened to the fact that Malibu didn’t own the copyright until this September, many months after the complaint was filed? Has the US Patent Office responded to this ownership question?

Doesn’t seem to have too much activities going on in the Bellwether trial. However, it appears Judge Baylson want the case to move forward in a speedy fashion, from the strict deadline regarding all the motions for extension of time. I guess like what I read in one of the tweets, Lipscomb probably is very happy that Prenda is in deep trouble and attract all the attention at the moment.

I just wanted to further point out how despicible these trolls can be. I am a Doe in the Bellwether trial, and also serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. I have recently been ordered to mobilize, and will be deployed to Afghanistan in April.

The opposing counsel has been informed of this, and we are seeking to stay the proceedings for me at least until I return from duty. They have neglected to even react to the news of my departure for duty.

I think it is ironic how I will be leaving my friends and family for over a year to defend the freedoms of this great Country, only to have to worry that every penny I make while over seas is a target of this company who seeks to exploit the very legal system that I fight to endure.

I meant that as a rhetorical question, not directed to you personally. Some that come here for help may be under the impression that the Plaintiff lawyers might be reasonable. They are not. They are not looking for justice rather want to extort money from people without any proof that defendant did anything wrong. An IP address just like a phone number is not a person.

From myself and everyone in our community who is offended by this predatory exploitation of the American judicial system, I first want to thank you for your service to our country and,secondly, to apologize for the Lipscomb parasites as they are a far cry from what makes our legal system the finest (for all its flaws) on our planet.

Despicable indeed. Your story can make a nice post, if you and your lawyer are OK with it. We help fighting for the future the way we can: by raising awareness, and the filth is scared. It was an accidental slip of the tongue when Colette threatened to “shut this site down,” while her rage was about a totally different matter. Truth hurts them a big way.

Prenda is sinking quickly, and I hope that Lipscomb is next, so when you are back, it will be just a distant, barely remembered nightmare.

Yes SJD, I am fine with making a story of this. In fact, my purpose of posting this was to hopefully spark interest in making it more public and possibly posting on this site and DTD. You can e-mail me at burnthetrolls@gmail.com.

Have you tried contacting your congressman? Trolls like Colette don’t like negative media, if there is national exposure that interests mass media there will be less willing trols out there. Scumbags like Malibu media want does to quetly pay up and move on, so colette can shop at gucci and attend equestrian horse competition.

I’m of the mind that the people who protect our country should be given houses for free, stocked with any DVD, CD, book or piece of entertainment that they want… and that there should be a clause in US law called “Don’t be a dick to the Armed Forces”, so when trolls come knocking you just say “Yes, I’m invoking the Don’t Be A Dick To The Armed Forces clause. Thank you and it will be a pleasure to never speak to you again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch Django Unchained, since everyone in the Armed Forces now gets screeners of every new release, on my 100 inch hi def TV… y’know, before I have to go out and risk my life in the name of country.”

It looks like the Bellwether case may be ending. Of the three defendants that were to work together to build a strong defense, one settled, another my be deployed to active duty overseas requiring possibly a stay of the trial until over a year. In the beginning, this seemed to be the most important case concerning privacy and use of the internet. It seemed this case would draw the major league organizations. ISPs and legal scholars to battle for privacy. No one showed up.

Certainly something important must have taken place in this fast track case but, there seems to be no coverage. No rulings, no disputes or demands over discovery? It is interesting that Comcast finally entered the case saying they will not or can not supply data the Plaintiff demanded exposing the plaintiff’s lack over understanding of federal laws concerning cable providers. .